Congratulations on
winning February 2012 COTM Phil! A lovely rare BT3 coloured Nissan Primera P11 and
packing some choice modifications too! How does it feel bagging this exclusive
award and the awesome COTM trophy as well?

It’s
so difficult putting into words how amazing this feels. I’ve had many ups and
downs with this car but this has made everything 100% worth it!!!

Before we talk cars,
modifications and mechanics, we’d love to find out about you the owner. Please
tell us about yourself and what you get up to, away from the NPOC.

I’m
a 26 year old bachelor from Surrey.
Unfortunately I’m still living at home with my parents due to not being able to
afford the deposit for a house on my own (does anyone in Surrey want a lodger?)

I
work as Wintel support for T-Systems. This is usually met with blank looks.
T-Systems is a sister company of T-Mobile providing IT solutions to clients
such as T-Mobile, Orange,
Philips, Shell, VW and Linde. Wintel support is a fancy way of saying I support
Windows servers running on Intel hardware. I hate it but it pays well and
during this economic climate can’t really afford not to have a job.

Most
of my time away from work and the forums is spent one of 3 places. Under the
car, in front of the PS3 or at a bar (shocker).

How did you find the
NPOC forums and are we any good? Would you happily recommend the club to other
Nissan Primera owners?

I
found the forums when I was performing a brake service on the P11 and had hit a
road block in the form of two different rear discs being available. First
impressions were fantastic, easily the warmest welcome I’ve had on any forum. 2
days later I paid my membership, think that’s fair to say I liked the little
part I had seen in the General Section.

I
not only would recommend it I actively do to anyone I meet that owns a Primera
as wellas people that used to own them
and speaks highly of them (surprisingly large amount of people that regret
getting rid of them).

You’re an Elite Member here (our highest level of paying
membership), are you getting value for money with that? And please sell us the
reason, why everyone should become Elite.

Free
breakfast at Ace Café and free food/drink at JAE make it absolutely worth it!
The discounts I’ve received over the years through being an Elite member have
likely far outweighed what I’ve spent. In this age it’s very rare to get back
what you give but with Elite membership you definitely do.

Like many before you,
you came to the forums with a completely standard Nissan Primera. You also came
with this quote in your opening introduction post: “I've always gone with the image that it's generally old
people that drive them (Primera’s) at 20 MPH”.. So here we are now a few
years later, you own a very nicely sorted car so what changed with your stance?

Before
joining NPOC I had no idea about this sort of club culture. I’d seen modified
cars and just assumed they’d come about from people reading Max Power (RIP) and
the like. I certainly had never seen the Nissan Primera as car for modifying. I
didn’t even know that a GT model existed.

What got you into a Nissan Primera? Was it on
the list of cars you wanted to own, or was it a chance purchase?

It
was a chance purchase. My previous car was a gutless 106 Diesel which had
developed a list of faults so long that I had to get rid of it. I found the
Primera for sale at a reasonable price and in a nice colour and thought there
was no chance I could get insured for a 2.0 litre. After doing some quotes and
realising big engine doesn’t always mean big insurance I jumped at it and never
looked back.

The colour code of your car “BT3” is not a
common one in the club. Did you know about the uniqueness of this colour when
you bought your car, or did you just buy it because it was a colour you liked?

I
didn’t know it was that unique as there was a Nissan Primera P11 144 the same colour down the
road from me (which at the time I didn’t know was any different from a P11 LOL).
It was only after joining here I became educated with what a rare colour it is,
and it became very apparent how rare it was when trying to source a wing for it
after putting a massive dent in it one year.

The Nissan Primera isn’t
the only car you own, what others do you own and which one of them is your “daily
driver” and why?

I’ve
currently got 2 cars that are solely mine and unfortunately I also have part
ownership of a third.

Obviously
there is the Nissan Primera P11 SX. This is my daily drive and car I am most
proud of.

The
second is a Toyota MR2. I’ve wanted an MR2 mk2 since as long as I’ve been into
cars (easily over 10 years), so when my Nan passed a few years back I used my
inheritance to buy one. With such a long build up it would have to be the right
one, couldn’t just be any MR2. A few months looking I had my hands on a 10th
Anniversary Limited Edition (number 122 of 250) MR2 in Caribbean Blue (this
colour will crop up again in the spec list). The car had only done 65,000 miles
in 15 years and was completely standard. I endeavoured to keep it standard and
it did up until the first MOT when it failed as the exhaust had rusted, when I
found out a standard exhaust was going to cost £1500 I decided to go
aftermarket so it now has a Mongoose cat back. Over the years it’s had a couple
of other mods but nothing that can’t be put back to standard.

The
third car is a Volkswagen Golf 1.6 which I co-own with my mum. We thought at
the time it would be a good idea to get as it should be cheap to run for me and
she could use it when she needed a boot (as she drives a Saab 9-3 convertible).
However I get better fuel economy from the Primera, and she makes do with the
Saab’s boot space 99% of the time. Every time it comes to selling it she makes
up some excuse not to so I’ve disowned it.

33% Geek / 33%
Petrolhead / 33% Alcoholic – Would be my tongue in cheek summary of you, if I
were asked… How accurate are my percentages LOL?

HAHAHA
fantastic question but that’s only 99% (1% pervert/sex pest seems too low). I
think it’s pretty accurate, though the geek and alcoholic sometimes fight for
control but never really gain anything.

This
year I’m promising myself the alcoholic will be reduced, but he’s already
beaten that out of me a few weeks ago with an all night/early morning binge LOL

The
petrolhead is the only real constant as if I’m gaming it’s often a racing game
and if I’m drinking I’ll usually find someone that will listen to me ramble on
about cars in some way (mine, theirs, motorsport etc).

On to the modifications,
now would be a great time to tell us all about your Nissan Primera P11 SX! So
please list your full spec and all modifications, inside and out:

Cosmetic:

GT
front bumper

GT
rear bumper

GT
sideskirts

GT
Spoiler

GT
dials

Fog
lights (SX didn’t come with them for some reason)

Front
& Rear flat wipers

JDM
Xenon Headlights

Smoked
rear lights

Smoked
side indicators

SX
badge removed from rear

Rear
Primera and Nissan badges resprayed Satin black

De-vinyled
pillars

Momo
Gear knob

Blue
footwell neons

Dash
console resprayed Caribbean Blue

Rocker
cover resprayed Caribbean Blue

Intake
plenum resprayed Caribbean Blue

Fake
Nismo oil cap

3M
DiNoc Carbon fibre gear lever surround

Brushed
stainless steel dial surround

Chrome
dial rings

Plasma
dials

Genuine
Nissan wind deflectors

Bonnet
lifters

GT
wiper stalk

GTLE
rear leather seats

Powder
coated purple radiator supports

Blue
dress up washers around the engine bay

NPOC
tax disc holder

NPOC
stickers

Dezent
Type-V 17” wheels

Performance:

JDM
strut brace

A&S
Cold air intake

Apexi
cone filter in the wing

Long
life cat back

Decat

Toyosports
manifold and downpipe

BC
Coilovers

Grounding
kit

D1
spec radiator cap

B&M
style short shifter

Polyurethane
exhaust hangers

Ice:

Kenwood
KDC-6047U head unit

30GB
iPod

JVC 6x9s in rear shelf

Alpine
13cm speakers

What’s the most
enjoyable change you’ve made so far?

Every
time I do something new it becomes my new favourite for a period of time.
Favourites that have stood out to me are the JDM HIDs, JDM strut brace and BC
coilovers. But all of them are nothing compared to the GT bodykit. Finally
getting that on transformed the car and how I see it.

If I gave £500 right now
and told you it had to be spent on the car, what would you buy?

Paint,
paint and paint. Cameras hide a lot of blemishes but I see them everyday. I’m
sure every time I clean the car a new stone chip or scratch has appeared.

If money was no object
and you could do anything you wanted to the SX, what would you do?

For
starters I’d get a VVL engine in there, complete with cams and proper mapping,
then I’d polybush absolutely everything I possibly can, followed by a full
respray (in BT3 of course). I’m always tempted by a turbo but Nissan must have
kept the Primera N/A for a reason.

Now I know you’re always
keen to bust out the tool kit and DIY a lot of the stuff that has been achieved
with your car - Is there anything you would leave for the professionals to do,
or are you always ready to give it a go?

Before
joining here servicing was the only thing I would do myself, referring heavily
to the Haynes book of lies. 3 years later quite a lot has changed and there is
literally nothing I wouldn’t have a go at. I can’t do welding but I’d love to learn,
just not on my own car!

I
try to be realistic though, if I can’t do something I know when to admit defeat
and ask someone to help.

What was the hardest modification / job you’ve
taken on??

The
hardest job I took on was replacing a tiny 3” water pipe around the back of the
engine block. It seemed easy enough but the reality was everything above it had
to come off just to get leverage (the inlet manifold, fuel rail, fuel injectors
and numerous other pipes and electrical connectors). The car was off the road
for over 2 weeks as I ran into numerous problems and also threw my back out
part way through. But firing it up afterwards was probably the most satisfying
feeling I’ve ever had.

Time for the quick
fire question round! (and a tweak for 2012!):

How long have you been
an NPOC Member?

3
years and some change.

What makes you smile?

Hanging
out with friends (offline and online).

What makes you sad?

Not
really sure but I know Forest Gump always makes me cry.

Tell us something we
don't know about you..

Probably
not that much, I’m pretty open. I like chick flicks and romantic comedies,
dunno if that’s already out there.

Your favourite colour?

Blue.

Your lucky number?

Urrrmn 12.

What will it say on your
gravestone?

“I
was wrong, wanking can kill you.”

Your favourite drink
(any)?

Becks.
Are you buying?

If you could steal the
keys to someone else’s car (on NPOC) for 1 day, which car would you steal and
why?

“ragt20”s
Mystic. Just to prove it exists outside of JAE and Rolling Road days.

Although
I’d love to get behind the wheel of “ChrisLK”s track P10. It looks amazing out
on track.

You are a club meets
whore (RESPECT!), which meet of the year do you look forward to the most? Is
there a meet or event the NPOC should be going to, that we currently don’t?

Close
call between Winchester and Ferry Meadows. Has to go to Winchester though as it was my first ever
meet and always falls around my birthday.

Only
event I miss is Dorset Jap Car Show but not a lot we can do about that.

What has been your
favourite all time ever NPOC Meet so far and why?

JAE
2011. It was when I had finally got the car to the standard it’s at now. I
certainly didn’t get bored of people complimenting the car.

PR cap on - Please tell
everyone why they should take the time to get out to our club meets (regional
or national).

Talking
on the forums is a good way to get to know people but it’s no substitute for
the fun that is had with meeting up with everyone in person. Distance isn’t a
valid reason when the NCN guys come over from Holland every year.

NPOC’s
just a big family, except you want to see them every month.

Any plans to move away from the Nissan Primera,
or does this car tick all the boxes and is a keeper for many years yet?

I’ve
never made it secret that I’ve thought about selling a few times but there’s
one reason I never did. This car is a part of me, and not a useless part like
the appendix. I genuinely believe it will kill me to sell it.

NPOC for life (regardless
of what car you own and drive) or leg it when you change car?

I’m
afraid you’re stuck with me for life.

Tell Carlos Ghosn why he needs to bring back the Nissan Primera
brand:

All
the other Japanese car giants have success in the mid sized family market but
Nissan have got a big hole to fill. Bring back one of the most successful
marques in Nissan’s history. You’ve got a market right here that are very
interested to see it.

Many thanks for telling
us all about yourself and your sweetaz Nissan Primera P11, it’s great to have
tagged you both in the NPOC history book! Congratulations once again for winning
Car Of The Month for February 2012 Phil! Please end this feature, in your own
words and feel free to thank anyone who’s made this one possible.

I
want to thank everybody on NPOC that has ever given criticism of the car (good
and bad). You’ve all helped in some way in shaping the way this car has come to
be.

“Ant-Dat”
for his endless advice when I’ve got myself stuck.

“ragt20”
for providing me with lots of parts that are on the car today. And the numerous
group buys he runs for clothing/service kits etc.

“edk_N16”
for every time you’ve dropped by to help out with the car and a big thanks for some of the photos you see in this feature!

And
again everyone that makes it out to all the meets. They wouldn’t be the same if
we didn’t get so many people out to them.

And
lastly a big thanks to the club owners for giving me the opportunity to join
the staff team. I hope I continue to do the club proud for many more years to
come.

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